Eyeing up a vacation in Nashville

The timing's no coincidence. By March, I'm ready for a change of scenery in a warmer place.

I sometimes joke that if I don't get out of Dodge soon, I might poke my eyes out -- or someone else's.

For quite awhile, Joe Cirino at J&J Travel & Tours planned our getaways. Our goal: someplace warmer than Erie that offers plenty of stuff to see and do. He sent us to New Orleans (fun), Charleston (beautiful), Las Vegas (viva!) and San Diego (relaxing).

The year after Joe died, his colleague plotted our course for San Antonio and Austin (both lovely). Then Doug retired, and our travel budget shrank a bit.

Last year, we took a road trip to Chicago. I'd go back in a second. It was big-city, like the Big Apple, but without some of the attitude.

This year, our sights are set on Nashville. We're driving there with friend and colleague Kevin Cuneo, who's very familiar with the city because he spent four years there earning his bachelor's degree at Vanderbilt.

Why Nashville? After watching several episodes of its namesake TV show -- starring Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere as dueling country divas -- the scene-setting shots of the skyline started looking very good to us. And friends said it was a great place to visit.

With Nashville on our radar, I booked my vacation time with my boss, and Doug started planning.

I love it when Doug plans.

No matter where we're headed, minutes after our destination is determined, he's in a bookstore buying the latest Frommer's and Fodor's travel guides on the city.

Then he reads them cover to cover, taking notes as he goes, figuring out the restaurants, sights and shows that should be on our agenda. Then -- map in hand -- he plots out our time in the city, finds hotels, makes restaurant reservations.

It works out perfectly, because I don't like planning vacations. I just like going.

So you can all rest easy now. Your eyes are safe -- no poking needed on my part -- because mine are focused on Tennessee.